Ice Chalk

Ice Chalk is the perfect kid activity for a hot summer day. Frozen chalk makes a great art, science, and sensory experience all in one.

While I was looking for activities the kids and I could do outside this summer, I saw lots of recipes for homemade sidewalk chalk paint. I briefly considered making some and putting it in spray bottles, but I knew it would only be a matter of time before they squirted each other.

Since it's been so hot here, the logical alternative was to freeze the chalk paint and make it into ice chalk.

I mixed up the sidewalk paint (half cornstarch, half water, plenty of food coloring), poured it into ice cube trays, and froze it.

At first, the lighter colors didn't seem to be working. The pavement just looked wet, but when the water dried the colors were more vibrant.

It turned out to be even more fun than I thought it would be. Besides using the chalk to draw, they used it in lots of other ways:

3D sculptures:

Lainey's rainbow

Color melting races:

Stamps:

Prints:

Color mixing experiments:

The cornstarch makes it thick when it melts, so it's fun to experiment with.

We even snuck in a little science by discussing what caused the ice chalk to melt the fastest.

Play clothes are a must for this activity. Next time I'm going to try washable paint instead of food coloring to reduce the amount of staining on their hands and clothes.

I make my littles sidewalk paint all the time. I add a few drops of liquid dish detergent to it so it washes off the sidewalk faster and stains them less. Without the dishsoap it took two washings to completely wash away.

So, I think I missed it... does the paint work better than 'chalk'? If so, what kind of paint are you using, liquid tempera, do you think powdered tempera might mix better or not... (washable, of course) and I add dish soap to everything, lol..the new teachers look at me as if I've lost it, until that first 'wash-off' - then it's nirvana! :-)

So, I think I missed it... does the paint work better than 'chalk'? If so, what kind of paint are you using, liquid tempera, do you think powdered tempera might mix better or not... (washable, of course) and I add dish soap to everything, lol..the new teachers look at me as if I've lost it, until that first 'wash-off' - then it's nirvana! :-)

The chalk paint looks the same as chalk when it's dry. It's just a different sensory experience to have it cold and melt into a liquid. For this batch I used food coloring and for the popsicle chalk I used washable liquid tempura. They worked the same as far as coloring the sidewalk went. The paint was easier to get off their hands though. I think the powdered would probably work fine, but I haven't tried it. I think the dish soap idea is awesome and I'm definitely adding it next time!

I love this craft and some of your others as well. If you're interested, I'd like to feature you on AllFreeKidsCrafts.com. Please contact me at jholtzman (at) primecp (dot) com to further discuss this opportunity.

We had lots of fun with chalk paint recently - never thought to freeze it. What a brilliant idea. I've featured this post on my Tuesday Tots post this week. Thanks for linking up. Feel free to stop by and grab a featured at button if you like! http://www.oneperfectdayblog.net/2013/05/28/outdoor-play-ideas-for-kids/

No, they had already played with the cubes so they knew it wasn't edible. If you use food coloring, cornstarch, and water, it would be safe if they tasted it. And I doubt they would taste them twice! :)